Highway
was recorded just three months after
Free
scored the career-redefining hit
"Alright Now,"
and while their profile was at a career-topping high, their morale was heading toward an all-time low. Guitarist
Paul Kossoff
was reeling from the death of friend
Jimi Hendrix
; a new single,
"The Stealer,"
bellyflopped ignominiously; and, when the album followed suit, the band itself was not far behind. Heavily influenced by their admiration for
the Band
,
has understandably been described as
's answer to
Music from Big Pink
, sharing both the laid-back vibe and mellow looseness of that role model. Where it went awry, of course, was in the fact that
were not cut out to be
country-rock
guitar-twangers, no matter how fiery their missionary zeal. Yet the strutting rockers
"The Stealer"
and
"Ride on a Pony"
alone shatter the brave new mood, while reflective romancers like
"Love You So"
"Be My Friend"
could well have been composed specifically to rid the band of the shadow of
and prove that underneath the coolest exterior, there beat a heart of molten gold. Of course,
had bathed in such waters before, and the closing
"Soon I Will Be Gone"
certainly bears comparison with any of their past
ballads
. Nevertheless, too much of
reacted to the pressures of the recent past rather than building upon the strengths that had made such events possible in the first place. ~ Dave Thompson